Used to be
by BigCityDreams
Summary: When they were seperated Sakura thought she was over Syaoran. But when they coincidentally go to the same college, will she realize that she still loves him?


_Sakura sat down on the couch next to Syaoran and rested her head on his chest. "I'm going to miss you, Syaoran," she sighed._

_Syaoran gently stroked the emerald eyed girl's cheeks as he told her that it would be alright. "We'll see each other again. Trust me," he assured her softly._

_Sakura sat up immediately and looked him in the eyes, "promise?" She said with a smile. He returned the smile._

"_Promise."_

"_I still don't want to move to Tokyo, though," the young girl said sadly, as she sat back on the couch, "I want to stay here in Osaka. With you." Syaoran wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close to him. "I love you, Syaoran. I'll never forget you."_

"_I love you, too."_

--xx

**2 YEARS LATER.**

Syaoran sat up in his bed and looked around his room sleepily. He rubbed his eyes then got out of bed and headed to the kitchen, not even bothering to take a shower.

Eriol was already sitting at their table eating cereal, and Syaoran grabbed a bowl himself and ate on the couch as he watched the television. "Morning Syao," he heard Eriol call out from the kitchen.

"Good morning," he replied, then turned his attention back to his television program. They both shared the apartment, since they had moved here to Hong Kong the year before. It was pretty small, but it was still big enough for them. There were two bedrooms, which were both pretty tiny, a bathroom, and the kitchen and living room were both in the same room. Eriol had asked many times if they could borrow money from Syaoran's rich parents to get a bigger one. Or at least fix this one up a bit. But Syaoran refused every time. He was determined to show his parents that he could make it on his _own _here in Hong Kong, and not have to use his parents money to pay for everything that he needed.

Syaoran glanced up at the calender and sighed. Next Monday, two days from now, was circled as the last day of summer vacation. Him and Eriol would both go back to the University of Hong Kong on that day, for their second year. Syaoran was majoring in Business, because he was going to take over his father's company once he graduated.

Syaoran sighed, and reached over for his laptop. He signed onto his e-mail and his heart almost stopped when he saw a message from Kinomoto Sakura. Him and Sakura had been dating 2 years earlier in high school, but had to break up when she moved to Tokyo due to her father being transferred for his job. They didn't really keep in touch, only an occasional e-mail saying hello and asking how they were. But he wasn't going to lie, he still had feelings for this girl. And he was pretty convinced he always would.

_Hey Syaoran!_

_Remember me?It feels like it's been ages since I've talked to you. How have you been doing? I've missed you :)_

_Guess what? I'm gonna be starting college next week! I'm so excited! But I guess you've already started college, since you're a year older then me. Hahaa. Are you still planning on taking over your father's business? I always thought it would be kind of boring doing that. You know? But I think you'd be good at it._

_I kind of wish that I could see you again. I want to stop by Osaka before I go to college, and say hi to some old friends. Including you! But Tomoyo says it's not a good idea. Oh well. But I hope you're doing okay. I really have missed you._

_Oh but I'm rambling now, aren't I? Hahaa. I guess I'll talk to you later._

_-Sakura._

Syaoran smiled as he read the e-mail over and over again then clicked on the reply button. He was sure he looked like an idiot with a huge cheesy grin on his face, but he didn't care. Knowing that she still missed him and wanted to see him again made him want to jump up and down. But he didn't know why.

It had been years since he'd seen her, and even in high school he was sure what he was feeling wasn't _love_. He thought so at the time... But they were just young, and thought that anything more then a little crush was love. He did still have feelings for her, but he didn't think they were enough to make him want to jump for joy just because of a little e-mail. And he was sure she wouldn't feel the same way if he had sent her that e-mail. He wasn't even sure if she still had the smallest amount of feelings for him....

--xx

"HOE!" Sakura yelled as she looked at the clock, "I'M GOING TO BE LATE!"

Hearing all the noise, her dad came and stood in her doorway watching her scramble to get all her suitcases together. "You ready to leave?" She gave him a thumbs-up as she tried to pick up all of her suitcases. Chuckling, he walked over to her and helped her with some of them. He left the room to bring her bags to the car, and she followed not far behind. Standing in the doorway, she turned around and took one last look at her empty room. The bed was now just a bare mattress. All of her pictures and posters had been taken down off of the wall. Her closet was empty, and the only thing left on her desk was a picture of her and Syaoran, that she didn't even know why she still had. She sighed, and closed the door as she left the room.

--xx

"Can you believe it Tomoyo? In a few minutes, we're going to be leaving to go to college at the _University of Hong Kong_!" Sakura said excitedly, as her and her best friend stood in the airport waiting for their plane.

Tomoyo giggled. "It's very exciting," she said with a smile.

They heard the intercom call for their flight, and smiled at each other before turning around to look at all of their friends that had come to say goodbye to them. Sakura walked over to her father and smiled. "I'll miss you daddy," she said, almost sadly. He smiled and pulled her into a big hug.

"I'll miss you too," he said, still hugging her. Sakura felt a tear drop run down her cheek as she pulled away and looked at her dad. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll call you once we get off the plane," she said before going over to her friends to say goodbye to them.

Sakura and Tomoyo linked arms and walked through the gate that lead to the plane. Sakura looked over her shoulder and waved at everyone. "I'll miss all of you!" she called out before turning around and walking down the hall to the plane. She couldn't help but think about Syaoran through all of this. She remembered the day at the airport... The last time she ever saw him. She knew she still had feelings for him, but she wouldn't let anyone know that. She thought about him every day. He was her first love, and she didn't think she would ever be over him. But she wouldn't let anyone know that. It was just a silly high school romance, and besides he probably had a new girlfriend who he was happy with. Even though she couldn't explain why, the thought of him with someone else tore at her heart. She shouldn't still have feelings for him... It had been years since she'd seen him, and she would probably never see him again. It was time to move on. But there was something that was making moving on extremely hard.

--xx

Syaoran walked down the busy streets of downtown Hong Kong, lost in thought. Ever since the day before he couldn't stop thinking of her. He smiled when he thought about how happy they were in high school. If there was any way for him to see her again he was sure he would. He couldn't explain why he still felt so strongly for her. Maybe he just needed closure, after all he never really got to say goodbye to her...

--xx

_Sakura sat in the back seat of her car, staring out the window at the world passing her by. Her dad was driving her to the airport, where she would leave everything behind. Syaoran, her friends, her school, her house... Her whole life. She glanced down at the cellphone she was holding in her hands and quickly dialed her boyfriends number._

"Hey,_" she heard from the other line and a small smile spread across her face._

"_Hey," she said cheerfully. "What are you doing right now?"_

"Nothing. What do you need?_" he said, sounding surprisingly cold, and Sakura's smile quickly faded away. There was a small pause, as she tried to figure out if she did anything wrong. "_You there?" _he asked, and she turned her attention back to the phone conversation._

"_Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you," she said quietly and then she heard a sigh come from the other line and there was another pause. Sakura brought her legs up onto her seat and hugged her knees to her chest and sighed quietly. "Are you coming to the airport?" she asked hesitantly. "Me and my dad are on our way there right now..."_

"No, I'm not going_." Sakura almost dropped her phone. Was he serious? This was the last time they would be able to see each other, and he just _wasn't going._ Without even giving her a good excuse..._

"_What?" she hoped she had heard him wrong._

"Look Kinomoto, I can't go. Okay?"

_Sakura felt like she couldn't even breathe. Since when did he call her Kinomoto? "Well, I guess I don't mean enough to you for you to say goodbye." She hung up the phone, and could feel a tear drop running down her cheek. She wanted to break down crying right there. She was hurt, and didn't understand why Syaoran was acting so cold. She _thought _that he cared about her, as much as she cared about him. But then he wouldn't be acting like this..._

--xx

"Syaoran!" Eriol yelled for the third time, and Syaoran finally snapped back into reality. He looked over at his friend and frowned. "What's up? You were just standing there in the middle of the sidewalk, you looked kinda spaced."

Syaoran started walking and Eriol followed at his side. "I was just thinking," he said blankly. "What are you doing here, anyway?" Syaoran glanced over at Eriol, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I was on my way to get some coffee when I saw you standing there like an idiot," Eriol said, earning a glare from Syaoran. They walked into a cafe to get something to eat, and immediately heard a ringing. "Hello?" Syaoran said, after bringing the phone up to his ear.

"Hey Syaoran-Kun! Can you take me and Chiharu shopping?" The voice on the other line begged.

"Meilin, I can't. Why can't Ryu take you? He is your boyfriend after all," Syaoran rolled his eyes at his cousin.

"He's busy, and we really need some great new dresses for the back to school dance this Friday!"

Syaoran sighed, and there was a long pause. "Fine," he muttered and flipped his phone shut. "Hey Eriol, that was Meilin. She wants me to take her shopping. Want to come?" Syaoran offered, trying as hard as he could not to sound desperate. Hanging out with a bunch of girls and lugging their bags around all day did _not _sound like a fun time to him, and he thought that it would be better if he at least had his best friend there.

"I guess," Eriol said reluctantly, "but I'm going to have to meet you there. I'm picking up a friend from the airport."

--xx

"Shit, that was a long plane ride," Sakura said, stretching. Her and Tomoyo were standing outside of the airport waiting for their ride. She glanced over and Tomoyo, and smiled at her. Tomoyo returned the smile but looked away as she saw a dark car pull up beside them. The man inside got out to put their bags in his trunk. Tomoyo smiled, and sat down in the back seat, leaving the front seat for Sakura. She got in and sighed as the man got in and starting driving again.

They got stopped at a red light, and he looked over at Sakura and smiled, "I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol."

"Kinomoto Sakura," she returned the smile, and he looked away once the light turned green again. Sakura didn't stop looking at him. He had black hair, that looked almost blue which he had gelled and spiked. She couldn't see his eyes, since he was wearing dark sunglasses. But he looked strong. _'He's kind of hot...' _Sakura thought, but looked away when she realized that Tomoyo was watching her stare at this guy. Blushing slightly, she slid down in her seat and looked out the window. Tomoyo giggled which only made Sakura blush even more. She turned to look out her window but realized that they were at the apartment building. Sakura smiled as Eriol pulled into the parking lot. He got out to get their bags, and Sakura quickly got out and took some of them herself. Tomoyo sat in the back smiling at the two, but got out when she saw Sakura looking at her weirdly.

"So Eriol-kun," Tomoyo started. "Could you help Sakura take these bags up? I've got a phone call I need to make," she said, and smiled innocently.

"Yeah, no problem!"

Eriol and Sakura stood in the elevator to the apartment building and waited for it to reach their floor. Eriol stared at her and smiled when she glanced up at him. Feeling her face heat up, she looked down at the floor, earning a chuckle from Eriol. "Um, s-so..." Sakura stuttered, trying to find something to talk about. "How did you meet Tomoyo?" she looked up at him and he was smiling.

"I used to live in Tokyo," he replied, "We met there. But I moved up here a two years ago."

"Oh, you probably moved here just before I moved to Tokyo," Sakura giggled and Eriol's smile grew bigger.

The rest of the way to the apartment was silent. Sakura would occasionally glance up at Eriol, but looked away before he could catch her looking at him. The elevator was a lot slower then most, making it take a lot longer to get to the apartment. They finally heard a ding coming from the elevator, telling them that they were on Sakura's floor. She walked down the hall, with Eriol following close behind, looking for her room number. "Ah, 736," she said to no one in particular, and stuck the key into the doorknob to unlock it. They both walked into the large apartment building and Sakura smiled.

Eriol looked around the room, and raised an eyebrow,"Damn, this is nicer then my apartment." Sakura giggled. Her father had paid for all of it. When they had gotten to Tokyo, he started his own business. It started out pretty small, but it was now one of the biggest businesses in Tokyo. Her dad was one of the richest men in Japan.

Sakura brought her bags to the back room and set them down as she looked around. The apartment had come with all the furniture that they needed, so they wouldn't have to go out and buy it themselves. There was a bed in the middle of the room, with a nightstand next to it. The was also a desk on the right wall right next to the closet door, and a full-length mirror next to the bedroom door. She went back out the hall and saw a door across from the bedroom. Walking up to it, she opened the door and flipped the light switch on, finding that it was a bathroom. It was pretty small... But it had everything they needed. A toilet, a sink, a shower, and a mirror. It would do. Walking back out to the hall, she saw another door at the end of the hall. She walked up to it and opened the door, but found that it was only a closet. Tomoyo's room was right next to hers, but she didn't want to go in there yet. She walked back out to the living room, where Eriol had already put Tomoyo's bags in her room and was now sitting on the couch. He smiled when he saw her and she sat down next to him. He put his arm on the couch behind her, but quickly pulled it back when she looked at him weirdly. Sakura giggled as he looked the other way, probably embarrassed. "So, I should probably be going now," he got up off the couch and Sakura got up too. "But, um, I was wondering... Maybe if you're not busy... You might want to have dinner with me tonight?" he asked shyly.

Sakura giggle, and nodded, "that sounds great."

"Great! So I'll pick you up at 7? Okay? See you then!" he said, and Sakura nodded. He smiled and backed up out the door, but almost tripped, earning a laugh from Sakura. Smiling, Sakura sat back down on the couch and sighed happily.

--xx

"Kawaii!" Tomoyo squealed as Sakura came out of the bathroom, dressed up for her date.

She was wearing a baby blue tank top, with white lace underneath. Her skirt was light-wash denim that was torn up at the bottom, and she had on tan leather boots that went about an inch below her knee. For makeup, she had on some eyeliner, mascara, some light pink lip gloss, and a little bit of blush. She looked stunning, even in clothes as simple as those. Her hair was left down, but a little bit curled.

There was a knock on the door and Sakura walked through the living room to the door, and Tomoyo ran to her room. "Hoe?" Sakura said quietly, before turning around to open the door.

"Kinomoto-San!" Eriol said happily as she let him inside. "Wow, you look beautiful." Sakura blushed slightly. She looked up and they locked eyes. He narrowed his eyes. There was something _different _in her eyes. Something almost sad. She seemed so happy, but then why did her eyes look so sad and distant? He shook it off. "So, are you ready to g-" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Tomoyo standing across the room filming them. Sakura noticed him staring behind her, and, confused, she turned around to see what he was staring at. Her face must have been as red as a tomato.

"Eh, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura sweat-dropped.

"Oh, don't stop!" The amethyst eyed girl came closer to them and squealed. "That was so cute!"

They both chuckled nervously.

"You ready?" Eriol said quickly. Sakura nodded quickly, and they practically ran out the door.

She sighed as Eriol opened the car door for her, and she got into the passenger seat. It was the same car they had been picked up in earlier. But now, the car blended into the dark night. Sakura watched out the window at the shops passing by, and the bright city lights of Hong Kong. There were very few people on the streets, and the stores had neon signs on the front of them, advertising what they were selling. It was so much different in the day time, when the streets were bustling with people. Businessmen going to work, or mothers taking their children to the grocery store. Even some street merchants who would try to sell you the craziest things. But now the city looked beautiful and calm.

The car stopped in front of a small noodle shop. Eriol got out of the car and went around it to open Sakura's door for her. She climbed out, and they both walked inside.

Sakura sat down and looked around as Eriol went to the back to order. The floors were cream tiles, and the walls were painted a peach color and trimmed with brown on the top and bottom. The door was to the far right of the shop, and to the left of the door there were a few tables along the wall of the small shop with three or four chairs to each table. There was a large window at the front which was decorated with light pink curtains, which were tied open on both sides. All of the workers were smiling warmly, making Sakura smile herself. It was small... But cute. And almost _cozy_.

Sakura smiled at Eriol as he came over to the table, but her smile was replaced with a confused look when she didn't see any food in his hands. "They're going to bring it to the table." Eriol said, after seeing the look on her face.

Sakura nodded. She propped her elbows on the table so she could rest her chin in her palms. Staring out the big window, her mind started drifting to thoughts of Syaoran. She hadn't dated anyone since him, and it almost made her sad... She didn't believe it, but she actually wished it was _him _there instead of Eriol. You couldn't really blame her though. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she _wasn't over him yet._ Memories of high school started coming back to her. She remembered when they first met, after he had moved there from Hong Kong. They became good friends fast. She never thought that he had feelings for her though. But it felt like she had **always **had feelings for him. Since the first time she looked into those intense amber eyes.

The waitresses came over and set two bowls down on the table, breaking Sakura out of her train of thought. She smiled up at them then looked over at Eriol, who had already started eating. She giggled as she noticed a noodle hanging out of his mouth. "What?" A confused Eriol asked. Sakura shook her head, still smiling weirdly, and dug into her noodles.

They spent a few hours there, just talking. Talking about everything. Their favorite music, or their most embarrassing moment, even a fat priest that Eriol saw in the world record book.

"This guy had to have been bigger then my apartment building!" Eriol said excitedly. "He was huge!"

Sakura found herself laughing a lot when she was talking to him. And she actually really enjoyed it. But something about it just felt wrong. It didn't feel like there was any sparks... It didn't feel like _Syaoran_. She had never dated anyone but him, and this just felt different somehow. Eriol didn't have that same warm smile as him. She didn't feel like she was going to melt when she heard Eriol's voice. And Eriol's eyes didn't even compete with _his_.

Sakura wanted to slap herself when she realized she was thinking about him again. But she couldn't help it. Just being here in Hong Kong, and with Eriol, brought back so many memories of him. Some of them were painful memories, but most of them... They reminded her of why she fell in love with him. His sense of humor, the way he would tease her about everything. It amazed her how even though he could be so playful and carefree, he could still care about her.

"Sakura? Sakura!" Sakura looked over at Eriol, who had a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Hoe? Yeah, sorry about that!" Sakura smiled.

Eriol didn't look completely convinced, but went on anyway. "Well they're about to close up. I think we should get out of here." Sakura nodded. She waited for Eriol to stand up, and quickly did so herself. "So, you want to go hang out at your apartment?" He looked over at her after they got into the car.

"I want to... But Tomoyo will probably be taping us if we go there." Eriol laughed. "Let's go to your place instead."

He nodded and started the car. The drive there was silent, the only noise that came from the car was the radio playing. Sakura was getting tired of the quiet car rides that night.

The car stopped and Sakura looked out the window at the rundown apartment building in front of them. "Hoe?" She whispered as she looked closer at the building. Out front there were some teenagers drinking beer and smoking. The was a lighted vacancy sign that had light bulbs burned out, so it now read 'vany.' Half of the windows were broken, and some of them had cardboard in them to replace the glass. And all of the old paint peeling off made it look like something from a horror movie. Sakura got scared at the thought of what was inside... "Eriol-san? Why did we stop here?" Eriol laughed and she finally realized... This was his apartment. There was a feeling of embarrassment coming over her, but at the same time a feeling of fear. She actually had to go in there.

Sakura hesitantly opened her car door, when she realized that Eriol had already stopped laughing and gotten out. The building smelled terrible, and she covered her nose as they came inside. They walked up the stair way to Eriol's floor, and continued down the barely-lit hallway. They passed a man who looked like he was in his mid-thirties, who was standing outside his door smoking. There was a bulge in his pocket and Sakura realized that it was a gun. She squeaked and started walking faster, wanting to get to the apartment as soon as she could.

Eriol finally stopped in front of what she guessed was his room, and she waited while he unlocked the door. She stepped inside and was surprised to find it wasn't as bad as the rest of the building. The furniture was ugly, but still in good condition. The walls looked like they had been painted in the past few months. It was small, and the stench from the halls was still evident, but Sakura didn't mind that so much.

"Thirsty?" Eriol looked over Sakura. She nodded and sat on the couch, and watched as he took two glasses out of the cupboard.

They both jumped when the door slammed open, and Syaoran came stomping in. "ERIOL!" He screamed. Sakura looked at him and gasped. He started to turn his head to look at her, but jerked it back in Eriol's direction when Eriol started to chuckle nervously.

"Syaoran, hey! How's it going?" Eriol smiled, but it quickly faded when he saw that his room mate was about to strangle him.

"WHAT THE HELLHAPPENED?! You were supposed to meet me at the mall hours ago!" Syaoran yelled and slowly started walking toward Eriol. Eriol backed up until his back was pressed into the kitchen counter, and braced himself. "Do you know what it's like, to spend all fuckin'day at the mall with MEILIN AND HER DUMBASS FRIENDS?"

"Oh, Syaoran!" Eriol said happily as he remembered Sakura sitting on the couch. "This is Sakura-chan." Sakura stood up, and Syaoran looked at her with wide eyes. He inched closer to her, not wanting to believe that she was actually here. He stopped when they were only a few inches apart, and he looked down at her. She was still beautiful. Maybe even more beautiful then before. Neither of them had actually believed that they would ever see each other again... Syaoran just wanted to cover her in kisses, and hold her in his arms. Hold her in his arms, and never let go.

Sakura backed up a little when she finally snapped back into reality. Looking down at her shoes, she grabbed her purse off the couch and headed for the door. "I have to go now." She managed to let out quietly before quickly opening the door.

It was strange seeing him again. She thought that she would be happy to see him. She had wanted to see him again ever since she left Osaka. She had even _told _him how much she missed him. But all she could think about was how cold he had acted to her. All that time when she thought they were in love. It didn't even mean anything to him. For him, it was all just a cruel game.

"Do you need a ride home?" Eriol asked, and stepped closer the door.

"No, I'll walk. Bye Eriol-san," she managed to say a little louder then before.

Sakura looked over her shoulder at him one more time. _Him_. The guy she thought she was over. The guy who broke her heart and never even thought to try and fix it. The guy who was now back in her life, and would no doubt cause just as much pain as he had last time. "Goodbye Syaoran."


End file.
